The invention relates to a surgical instrument, in particular a laminectomy rongeur or a conchotome.
Such surgical instruments, also designated as sliding shaft instruments, are sufficiently known. Generally, laminectomy rongeurs are used as a punch for cutting through tissue, cartilage or bone and are used in particular in spinal operations. Sliding shaft instruments are distinguished by a sliding part, longitudinally displaceable relative to a fixed shaft, which sliding part is displaceable by actuation of a pivotable grip part (gripping arm) in the direction of the longitudinal extent of the shaft. Usually, the sliding part and the shaft cooperate here with distal working ends in the manner of a punch.
A problem in known surgical instruments is mostly their only inadequate and complex cleanability. In order to be able to clean sliding shaft instruments in an improved manner, in particular in a region between the sliding part and the shaft, into which biological material can enter during the operation, sliding shaft instruments have become known, in which the sliding part is to be arranged fully or partially so as to be pivotable about a rotation axis running transversely to the longitudinal extent of the shaft and parallel to the pivot axis of the grip part, in order to hereby optimize the accessibility of a sliding part guide for cleaning purposes. Sliding shaft instruments with a sliding part pivotable about a rotation axis are described for example in DE 10 2006 043 970 A1, DE 299 24 518 U1 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,531 A. A disadvantage in the known surgical instruments is that the sliding part is not able to be transferred by single-handed operation from a working position into a cleaning position, in which it is pivotable about the rotation axis. An additional disadvantage is that known surgical instruments to some extent have to be dismantled for cleaning purposes. i.e. the sliding part has to be removed from the shaft part after pivoting about the rotation axis.
In addition to the previously described laminectomy rongeurs, sliding shaft instruments constructed as a conchotome are known, which inter alia are used as intervertebral disc forceps or also in operations for the reduction of nasal conchae. As in the case of laminectomy rongeurs, the problem of an only insufficient cleanability also exists with conchotomes.